Palestinian reconciliation back on the table

Jerusalem: A Palestinian official says the Palestinian President will meet with the leader of the militant Hamas movement next month to discuss uniting duelling governments in the West Bank and Gaza.

The meeting will be the first between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas` Khaled Mashaal since they signed a surprise reconciliation agreement in May.

Amin Makboul, a senior official with Abbas` Fatah movement, said on Thursday the two will meet in Cairo. He gave no specific date.

The deal was already troubled by disputes that had undermined previous reconciliation efforts, such as who would control the Palestinian security forces and how to deal with Israel, whose existence Hamas rejects.

It further stalled over the statehood bid Abbas submitted to the United Nations last month.